Johnson & Johnson and 42 state attorneys general reach $700 million settlement in talc baby powder investigation – NBC4 Washington

A multimillion-dollar settlement was approved and filed in court Tuesday, stating that Johnson & Johnson will pay $700,000,000 to resolve a major investigation into baby powder containing talc.

The settlement came after more than 40 state attorneys general sued the company for misleading customers about the safety of its products.

Johnson & Johnson had been investigated for marketing its talc-containing baby powder, which the company has been selling for over 100 years.

A total of 43 states, including Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC, found that the talc contained asbestos without the company warning that it could cause cancer.

Thousands of women in the United States have applied talc baby powder to their genitals or in their underwear to absorb moisture and prevent odors, which are heavily socially stigmatized, often in advertisements. Studies on talc powder have shown that using the powder in this way is linked to ovarian cancer.

This link between talc and ovarian cancer was greater in people who used the powder frequently or over a long period of time, NBC News reported in May.

Under the agreement reached on Tuesday, Johnson & Johnson will permanently stop manufacturing, marketing and selling all baby, body powder and cosmetic powder products that contain talcum powder.

Here’s how the DMV’s share of the $700 million settlement will be divided between DC, Maryland, and Virginia:

• DC receives $3 million
• Virginia receives $21.1 million
• Maryland receives $14.9 million

None of the three attorneys general responded to questions from News4 about whether consumers will receive compensation or how the money will be paid out.

While the lawsuit settled on Tuesday addresses the deceptive marketing of talc products, tens of thousands of lawsuits remain pending from individuals claiming that Johnson & Johnson’s talc-containing products have caused serious health problems such as mesothelioma and ovarian cancer.

Some of these lawsuits are expected to go to court later this year.

Johnson & Johnson ended its fiscal first quarter with higher-than-expected earnings per share as sales in its medical device division rose sharply. Total revenue came in at $21.38 billion, in line with the expected estimate of $21.4 billion. This revenue is up more than 2% from the same quarter in 2023, CNBC reported.

In a statement to News4, the company said, among other things: “… the company continues to pursue multiple avenues to achieve a comprehensive and final resolution of the Talk litigation…”